A poke in the eye with a sharp stick

So, am I the only one that feels like he gets screwed every time he goes to get new eyeglasses?

Had my eyes checked today. My near-sightedness is actually slightly improved. The astigmatism (no, you're thinking "stigmata") is also better. However, I do need bifocals. Yep, I'm 42. go figure. See, I've had eyeglasses since I was six. So by now I'm over having to wear glasses. With my day job and training I can't afford the risk that surgery brings and contacts just aren't for me.

They have a new test that takes a picture of your retina. From what I can tell for no really good purpose except that they can. So I said no, and then I had to sign a paper that said that I refused the test. WTF.

And then there was, what I now realize is my own mistake by marking the wrong paper with the wrong inscription during our health care meeting (which, in my defense, we only had like 30 sheets of paper that discussed the various options of our health care plans, all four parts). But they did say that I had no eyeglass benefit, when I do have 20% off lenses AND frames. I finally got them to admit to the frames part. And for the up-purchase plan (which I did get), frames are free up to $130. Ask me just how many frames were less than $130 in the doctor's office that weren't for kids. I think I found one. There were about 20 that come in somewhere in the $140-200 range.

$230 for frames? Just whom are we kidding here. Seriously, if they were made of titanium, all of it, including the lenses, then maybe it might be close including the middleman markups. So, yeah, I'm going to be shopping around and maybe seeing if I can get new lenses in these frames. I still like them. I'm not all that self-conscious to only want progressive lenses, a line for the bifocal is fine (although the sales person nearly had a panic when I said that, I wonder if they even can make those anymore). Reminds me how I was asked if I wanted to pay an extra $30 more for a partial view of the falls the last time we were in Niagara. I said no, we got the same room anyway, but for the original price. Or how I have to pay a "touch-tone dialing" fee when I'm not offered the option for rotary dialing (yes, I asked).